Known to Chicago audiences for his seventy record-breaking weeks at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre with George Gershwin Alone and the world premiere of Monsieur Chopin, as well as annual appearances at the Ravinia Festival, Heshey Felder is returning to what he has often called his favorite city in America with the best audiences in the world – Chicago. Mr. Felder will perform at the Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St.) beginning with Beethoven, As I Knew Him playing November 13 to December 20, 2009. George Gershwin Alone will follow December 23 to 30, 2009. Performances will culminate in two special New Year’s Eve presentations of The Great American Song Book Sing-A-Long. These shows will be filmed in Chicago before a live audience for future television broadcast and world-wide release.
Beethoven, As I Knew Him is a dramatization of a little known true story as told in 1870, forty-three years after Beethoven’s passing, by the person who spent a good part of the maestro’s last two years by his side. With a narrative spanning several generations, Hershey Felder combines his acting, piano and musical analytical skills to bring to life the character of Ludwig van Beethoven as he existed through the eyes of one who knew him well. Featuring some of the composer’s most famous works, including The Moonlight Sonata, The Pathetique Sonata, selections from Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9, the Grosse Fugue, as well as a movement of Beethoven’s great Emperor Concerto, Beethoven, As I Knew Him is a journey through time that will bring audiences closer to Ludwig van Beethoven as he was experienced in his time.
George Gershwin Alone is a delightful play with music that incorporates the Gershwins’ best-known songs, from The Man I Love and Someone to Watch Over Me, through passages and songs from An American in Paris and Porgy and Bess, to a complete performance of Rhapsody in Blue. The first popular composer to use jazz as the foremost musical element in the serious concert hall, Gershwin absorbed the musical styles, rhythms and sophistication of the American spirit and created a musical language that made its mark on both classical and popular music throughout the world. Hershey Felder brings to life the spirit and talent of the legendary composer and pianist, leading audiences through the fascinating rhythms of Gershwin’s legendary songbook, while telling the tale of his tragically short life.
Tickets for Beethoven, As I Knew Him and George Gershwin Alone are currently on sale and range in price from $55 to $60.
Tickets for the New Year’s Eve presentation of The Great American Song Book Sing-A-Long are $100 for the 7 p.m. performance and $150 for the 10 p.m. performance. For show times and dates, visit www.eightyeightentertainment.com.
Tickets are available at Drury Lane Water Tower Place Box Office; Box Office charge-by-phone at (312) 642-2000; at all Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Hot Tix and select Carson Pirie Scott, Coconuts and fye stores); Ticketmaster charge by phone at (312) 559-1212; and online at www.Ticketmaster.com. Special offers are available for groups of 10 or more. For groups of ten or more, visit GroupTix online at www.GroupTix.net or call (877) 4-GRP-TIX or (877) 447-7849.
